Calls for former police HQ to be part of Rouge Bouillon School expansion

A St Helier Deputy is asking States Members to agree to allocate the former Police Headquarters at Rouge Bouillon to the expansion of Rouge Bouillon primary school. Deputy Inna Gardiner says if the opportunity is not taken, the long-term prospects of improving the St Helier school will be limited.

The latest government plan has allocated £22 million over the next four years to the development of the site.

Yet, last month, plans for the school were thrown into question when the Director-General for the Justice and Home Affairs Department told a scrutiny panel hearing that the former Police HQ site could be used to accommodate additional emergency services instead. The inadequacies of the Rouge Bouillon facilities have been clear for some time - the headmaster of the school, in a letter to the Public Accounts Committee in September 2020, highlighted particular concerns around the lack of space.

He referred to the housing in the school's catchment area as "some of the poorest in Jersey", often lacking in outdoor space, which means the school's pupils repeatedly come out top on the BMI scale in the island's Health Survey. He also highlighted the inadequacies in parking provisions for parents of children with special needs. Half the students at Rouge Bouillon currently qualify for Jersey Premium - a financial supplement for low-income families. Deputy Gardiner argues that by giving priority to the improvement of the school, "it would begin to put these children first".

St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft has come out in support of Deputy Gardiner's proposition. He says he has tried to get answers from Ministers about the future of Rouge Bouillon school for the last decade, while significant money has been spent on out of town schools.

A Government of Jersey spokesperson says discussion with the Council of Ministers will continue this week.